In 2013 Mauritius continued to play a role in international antipiracy efforts. After an early January piracy attack in the Indian Ocean, a European Union Naval Force handling antipiracy operations in the region transferred 12 suspected Somali pirates to Mauritian authorities. Mauritius had signed an international agreement in 2011 to accept suspected pirates for trials, which were to be held in the island’s courts. The 12 suspects were the first to be transferred to Mauritius after the agreement was signed.

Torrential rains and flash floods on the last day of March killed at least 10 people in the capital, Port Louis. Most of those who drowned were in an underground walkway and parking garage that rapidly flooded after 15 cm (6 in) of rain fell in less than one hour. Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam and climatologists attributed the downpour and floods to climate change. In September Ramgoolam called on the international community to enter into a legally binding agreement to address climate change by 2015. Addressing the UN General Assembly, Ramgoolam noted that climate change, while detrimental for all populations, was especially concerning for less-developed small islands.

Dassen Naraynen, a former hotel security guard and the final suspect charged in the January 2011 murder of tourist Michaela McAreavey, was acquitted in March. Two other suspects had been found not guilty at their trial in 2012.

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body of salt water covering approximately one-fifth of the total ocean area of the world. It is the smallest, geologically youngest, and physically most complex of the world’s three major oceans. It stretches for more than 6,200 miles (10,000 km) between the southern tips of Africa and...

city, capital, and main port of the island of Mauritius in the western Indian Ocean. It lies between a well-sheltered, deepwater harbour, accessible to ships through a break in the coral reef, and a semicircle of mountains.